JILLIAN MICHAELS Is On A Mission To Change Your Life

We’ve all seen her on The Biggest Loser yelling and pushing the contestants to their limits, but when I saw that Jillian Michaels was doing a tour called “Maximize Your Life,” I had to wonder what the heck this was about. Like anyone, I did my research and found out that she would be talking about the science behind weight loss, as could be expected. What peaked my interest was the second part of the show about the underlying psychological motivation behind achieving goals, reaching our potential, and living the life we want. My mind’s wheels came to a screeching, dumbfounded halt. Is this the same Jillian Michaels that we all know from TV? All I could imagine was her screaming at the audience to change our lives and keep reaching for our goals unless we puke or die. The night of the show came, and I must say that I was pleasantly surprised.

I walk in the theater, bypassing the counter of all but healthy snacks the venue was ironically selling to a crowd coming to a weight loss speaker, and grab my seat. The lights dim and a very disturbing and confusing video ensemble of agriculture, animal farming, people fighting, nature, love, and harmony shocks the audience into silence. We all slowly snap out of it as Jillian comes onstage like a Chicago Bull’s player, reaching out to slap the first row’s hands as she runs across the stage. She explains that the video portrays two very real realities that coexist, and how we can choose to be in either one. Good intro hook, Jill.

She starts on the bad reality with an entertaining and humorous wit so that the audience doesn’t get overly depressed. This reality is one of economics pushing for more product at a faster rate, introducing chemicals, hormones, antibiotics, etc. into our food to produce more for less. On the consumer end though, it leads us down a very unhealthy, overweight, and sick road. Don’t you fret, though, because Jillian has a solution! She gives the audience a laundry list of things to look out for on nutrition labels, in addition to which foods to eat and which ones to avoid. It’s all very good information so far. Now it’s time for Jillian to reveal her secret to weight loss that has made her a boat load of money.

“Eat less, do more,” she says, giggling at the fact that she’s made so much money by teaching such a simple phrase. We all know this is true, but thankfully she goes further and takes us through some simple math to calculate what our bodies need to consume in order to maintain, gain, or lose weight. She also talks about the effectiveness of multi-planar, multi-muscle exercises, in comparison to the machines at the gym that isolate a single muscle. This was all a good crash course on the material Jillian has been telling us through her countless workout videos. It’s intermission time now, so go get some more sugary snacks and come back to watch the motivational part that’ll make you think twice before for eating all that junk.

Jillian welcomes us back by talking about the facts of life, and how many of us go through our lives doing what we were told to do with the hopes of being set up for success. What usually results is stress piling on bit by bit, constantly trying to please others, and not being happy or satisfied with the lives we’ve created, making us tempted to veer into a light pole everyday on our drive to work. She walks us through her own life, and how the lack of emotional well-being presents itself in our health. Many examples are presented, including walls we’ve built up and emotional triggers for eating that keep us from being the healthy, happy people we want to be. She even admits that she does not, in fact, enjoy working out. She explains that she does hit the gym because she chooses to be healthy so she can enjoy all that life brings, including being able to wear skinny jeans when she turns 70. Now is the audience’s turn to make a choice. It is time to decide if they will choose to be healthy, fit individuals that will enjoy all that life brings, or if they will let the mental roadblocks get in their way and keep them from being the happy individual they deeply desire.

The audience walks away with at least one thing tonight. It’s a commitment to Jillian that they will choose to be happy, choose to be healthy, and choose to overcome the negative obstacles that stand in their way to being the best person they can be. Who knew that the screaming, militant personal trainer from The Biggest Loser would blossom into a witty, inspirational life coach? Good work, Jillian Michaels. I look forward to seeing this next step in your career grow.

Curiosity hasn’t killed this cat yet. Tyler Rathje is a life-long student who can’t seem to scratch his itch for knowledge. A dry and sarcastic character by nature, he tells it like it is from his perspective. Tyler is certified by the National Academy of Sports Medicine as a personal trainer, and trains clients at Fitness Formula Club in Chicago. Any inquiries can be sent to trathje@ffc.com.